


Page 365 (Happily Ever After)

by ellacj



Series: 52 Weeks of Swan Queen [52]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, New Year's Eve, New Year's Fluff, New Year's Kiss, New Years, Party, i can't believe this is week 52
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-10 20:38:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5600020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellacj/pseuds/ellacj
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Midnight on New Year’s Eve is a unique kind of magic where, just for a moment, the past and the future exist at once in the present. Whether we’re aware of it or not, as we countdown together to it, we’re sharing the burden of our history and committing to the promise of tomorrow.”</p><p>-Hillary DePiano</p>
            </blockquote>





	Page 365 (Happily Ever After)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [blanketed_in_stars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blanketed_in_stars/gifts).



> be forewarned, i get sappy in the notes at the end

Emma taps her pen against the yellow legal pad as she struggles to put words to her thoughts. So far her list has only two items, and she knows she needs more than that.

“What are you doing in here?” Regina’s soft voice comes from behind, and Emma feels strong but gentle arms circling around her waist and a chin coming to rest on her shoulder. “‘Adopt a dog, get a raise’?”

Emma’s face flushes pink. “It’s a list of everything I want in the new year. I’ve made one every year since I was a kid.”

“Why?”

“I guess I still managed to have some hope, even after a lot of shitty years.”

Regina slides into the chair beside Emma. “So all you want for next year is a dog and a raise? Because I can tell you now, fifty percent of that list is not going to happen.”

Emma smirks. “It was worth a shot,” she says, crossing out _adopt a dog_. “I can’t think of anything else.”

“Really? Nothing else you want?”

“I’ve already got all I want.” Emma grins and turns to press a kiss to Regina’s cheek. “What about you? Do you want to make a list?”

Regina looks thoughtful for a moment before she reaches across Emma and flips the legal pad to a fresh page and snatches up the pen. “No peeking.”

“Yes, sir.”

She sketches on the pad in that way that Emma loves, with careful strokes and brow furrowed in an intense display of focus. Finally, she caps the pen and passes the pad to Emma, who subsequently bursts into giggles.

On the page Regina has drawn a crude sketch of a woman who must be Emma standing at a sink, plate and sponge in hand. “Fair enough,” Emma laughs. “I’ll try to be better about my dishes in the new year, I promise.”

“That’s all I ask.”

“Hey, speaking of New Year’s, are we going to the party tonight?”

Regina frowns. “What party?”

“Granny’s party. Doesn’t she host it every year?”

“Oh. Yes, I suppose she does.”

“You’ve never gone?”

Regina arches a single brow. “Name one person who would have invited me before now.”

“Okay. But I’m inviting you now.” Emma pulls both of Regina’s hands into her lap. “There’s no one else I want to share my New Year’s kiss with.”

“In front of all those people?”

“You’re still not big on PDA, are you?”

“Not particularly.”

Emma squeezes Regina’s hands and rubs her thumb in gentle circles over them. “Tell you what. When it gets to be midnight we’ll sneak off somewhere. Yeah?”

Regina sighs. “You really want to go to this party.”

“I really do.”

“Okay, we can go. I suppose Henry will want to go as well, anyway.”

Emma grins. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re lucky I love you.”

“Yeah. I am.”

 

By the time Regina parks the Benz in the parking lot of Granny’s at nine o’clock, the music is already loud enough to be heard from outside, and the three of them can see bodies packed together in the windows. Regina takes a deep breath. “Let’s go.”

Ruby grins and elbows her way across the room to meet them when they walk inside. “Ugh, I’m _so_ glad you made it, Em!” she slurs, clearly already heavily intoxicated.

Regina tightens her grip on Emma’s arm. “It’s good to see you, too, Ruby.”

They make their way over to the snack table, scanning the crowd for familiar faces. “So, how’re you liking it so far?” Emma practically shouts over the din.

“Ask me after I’ve had a few drinks.”

Emma grins. “Deal.” She reaches behind them and hands Regina one of the tiny plastic flutes of champagne on the table. “How’s that?”

Regina squints at the drink in her hand. “This is pathetic.”

“This is New Year’s.” Emma picks up a small flute for herself. “Cheers!” She downs the whole thing in one smooth gulp and wipes her mouth with a wide smile. “Wanna dance?”

“You’re going to kill me, Swan.”

“That’s the spirit!” She drags Regina by the wrist to the dance floor, and the two of them (one rather reluctantly) begin moving to the early-2000’s techno music that has only just become popular in Storybrooke.

Henry stands in the corner with Paige for most of the night, Emma and Regina dance and make the rounds through their social connections. And the clock ticks ever closer to midnight, to the new year, to a fresh start for everyone in Storybrooke.

And suddenly the music cuts out, replaced by Ruby’s voice over the microphone. “The countdown is starting, guys!” she yells. She points to the small television in the corner displaying the celebration at Times Square, whose own large screen is flashing numbers counting down the seconds until midnight.

Everyone in the diner starts to shout the numbers along with the TV. “Forty-eight! Forty-seven! Forty-six!”

Emma turns to Regina and slips their hands together. “You wanna go somewhere else?”

“No.” Regina smiles. “We’re good here.”

As the numbers get smaller and smaller, couples move together, holding hands, preparing to end the year and begin the next one in each other’s embrace. “Ten! Nine! Eight!”

“Ready?” Emma murmurs, gazing into the sparkling chocolate eyes of the one person she never expected to love this much. Her mind races as she leans in, flashing images of all her favorite memories with Regina.

Eating ice cream at the docks, sitting in the library and reading their favorite books aloud until Belle silenced them, watching movies on the couch with a bowl of popcorn, buying Henry’s Christmas gift, tucking Henry in at night, curling up in the bed together as though they’d been doing it their entire lives.

And right there in the middle of Granny’s Diner, Emma realizes something. She thought that every second of her life was leading up to her coming to Storybrooke to break the curse, be the Savior, be reunited with her parents. But she was wrong. Everything she endured in her life before coming here, every second of pain, every time she thought she’d never be put back together, was preparing her for this.

She was preparing to fall in love for the last time.

Because if every year is a story then this is the 365th page, the last page, the happy ending before a new story begins, and all those stories will run together and tell a tale of love, loss, hate, forgiveness, and far too many cups of cocoa. And now, finally, Emma decides that she likes where her story is headed. For the first time in a long time, she’s excited to greet the new year not with dread, but with a smile and a warm welcome.

“Three! Two! One!”

The clock strikes midnight, and Regina’s lips meet hers with a mixture of unhidden excitement and indescribable gentleness. And Emma greets the New Year doing one of her favorite things in the entire world – something she’s been doing for the past year, and something she plans on doing for the rest of her life.

Loving Regina Mills.

**Author's Note:**

> Wow. My 52 Weeks Challenge is over. It's 2016. Allow me to get really sappy for a minute, okay?
> 
> One year ago, a friend and I challenged ourselves to write a oneshot every single week for a year. And, despite a few minor delays, we did it. It's been a wild ride, but I've loved coming up with ideas, screaming at my friends over Skype, and writing and developing these two characters who have been such a big part of my life for so long.
> 
> That said, this will be my last Swan Queen piece. I'm moving out of the realm of fanfiction, and delving into the intimidating yet exhilarating world of original fiction. I'll likely post my original pieces here on AO3, and I'll of course leave all of my fanfiction up on my profile, but no new Once fic or probably any other fic (except maybe one or two every once in a while) will be posted. It's been a great journey, and I have to say I'll miss it.
> 
> I want to thank everyone who was a part of the journey through the 52 Weeks of Swan Queen Challenge. Thanks to Nicole, to whom this piece is gifted, for sticking it out with me week by week. Thanks to Audrey for listening to my all-caps ranting about my ideas when you don't even watch Once Upon a Time. Thanks to coalitiongirl for commenting on Week 4 and sending my self-esteem through the roof. Thanks to everyone who read and left kudos and comments - you guys are the reason I made it to the end of this challenge and didn't give up halfway through.
> 
> I can't think of a better way to spend one year and 76,974 words. There will always be a soft spot in my heart for the amazing fans of Swan Queen. I'll never forget my time in this fandom. So long, farewell, and may we meet again.


End file.
